Jesus said, “I am the door. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. —John 10:9

Doors open and doors close. Doors welcome us in and doors shut us out. So do gates and fences and wall and borders. They can insulate and isolate us, or they can provide the passageway to new adventures and possibilities. They can keep us exclusive, or they can enable us to be more and more inclusive.

Doors were never a barrier to Jesus. Behind locked doors He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, bringing assurance, confidence, forgiveness, and hope. These men weren’t meant to be huddled together in fear, closed off from the world. Instead, they unlocked and opened the doors of their hearts and minds to bring Jesus’ ministry and mission to the ends of the earth. In doing so they turned the world upside down!

We can, too. In our thinking and attitudes, what are the closed doors in our lives that we need to open? How can we be more welcoming and inviting to the people in our community? What are the prejudices that we must overcome? The probing question has been raised, ‘Why do the people in the pew look just like me?’ Maybe because we haven’t taken seriously Jesus’ commands to love and serve all people. Perhaps we need to widen the circle of our friends and be better neighbors to those right in our midst. Just as there’s always room for one more guest at the dinner table, there’s room to welcome someone new to our pew.

This also applies to the leadership of our church. We might ask, “Why does the pastor look just like me?” All pastors have talents to share and gifts to bring and a unique message to proclaim. Be open to the possibility of being served by a pastor of a gender or race or color or nationality other than your own. Don’t shut doors that the Spirit is opening in your personal life and in the life of your congregation.

In Revelation 3:8, the Lord proclaims, “Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” Just as Jesus is the door to salvation, so He opens doors of opportunity for us to enter and pursue.